The wrong way to free a mind
by DesertFlower303
Summary: Cypher is jealous, and he's going to get even. So when Neo leaves his goop unattended one morning, the snake strikes. What follows is an erruption of chaos, questions and stomach contents.


"Cypher! What did you do to him?" A harsh voice shattered the strange picture as the bald man turned around.   
"Nothin'." He quipped, his voice painfully nasal, sending shivers of suppressed revulsion down her back. She raised an eyebrow. "Just a little something to spice up the goo..." He finished cheekily, watching for any change of emotion like a vulture.  
"What?" She leant over the body of the other man, checking pupil dilation, breathing and airways. Jealousy seethed inside the bald man as he offered a pointless excuse.

"Morpheus wants him to free his mind, so I figured I'd give him a hand." His grin was pig-like, contorting his moon face. Calmly, the woman straightened, eye cold and hard.

"What did you put in it?" It was a demand, not a question. Cypher scratched the back of his neck nervously. 

"Nothin'..." He began, shifting slightly under her ice hot gaze. "...just a few hallucinogens." He finished hesitantly, his grave was dug.  
"What?" A suicidal thought stole across his mind as he watched her eyes flash, 'Man she's sexy when she's angry', but he had enough self preservation not to voice that thought.  
"Where did you get those Cypher?" She broke his train of thought, which consisted of many other ways she could achieve the same reaction without being ready to kill him, her eyes narrowed.

"Well...I had this contact, and he..." 

"Oh God..." Her voice fell onto the quiet air, cursing him already. 

"At any rate, I don't think it's all that critical where I got them right now." He sniggered. Her ice blue eyes pinned him to his spot.

"Why?" Cypher grinned again and Trinity felt ill. 

"Because Neo's lookin' like he's gonna have a long night... Or do something really stupid... Either way it's gonna be entertaining." He rubbed his selfish palms together in excitement. Trinity was relieved she wasn't her friend Switch, her position as second in command meant her restraint was tested regularly. And knocking out a crewmember with her fist would have got her some time in Zion for sure. That was time she didn't have. They were interrupted by Neo's soft voice behind her. 

"Hey! It's a flutterby!" He mumbled. Her eyes softened and the man standing and in a coherent state was ready to strangle the other. How could she be so concerned about the new coppertop, who was barely able to feed and dress himself properly even if he could beat the training programs, and yet show him a man of Real World experience so much contempt he almost wished he had never set eyes on her? 

"Cypher, you are going to go to Dozer and tell him exactly what you put in and in what amounts. You will then help him make a counteracting substance we can administer. Do you understand?" Cypher gave her a wierd look. 

"You want to handle him by yourself?" It was taking all Trinity's patience and will power not to bite his head off. 

"I'll be fine. It's your own hide you should be worrying about."  Cypher turned away, frowning because she sat on the bench near the dark haired man. Neo failed to notice, intrigued by the lines on his hand and arm, confused immensely by the paleness he saw. Her shoulders revealed that her anger had been deferred, at least for a short time and that he was safe. Not sure if he was thankful or not, the bald man climbed the ladder to the main deck.   
"This must be what Choi meant..." Neo stammered, sliding her out of her half-aimless staring. "...except...I think I'm allergic to flying..."  His face was going slightly green and she hesitated for a moment. She would need a bucket soon, no doubting that, but it would mean she would have to leave Neo to the visions that kept him on the floor. Neither option facing her was very appealing. 

"What's going on down here?" Came Apoc's even voice as he appeared from the doorway. Trinity took a look at Neo who was looking extremely woozy, the blood draining from his face, making him unnaturally pale, and panicked. He looked like he was 'going to pop' as a certain vile someone would say. 

"Apoc. Get me a bag, a blanket, a bin, anything that retains fluid. Now."   
"Why?" He asked, confused, right before his eyes rested on Neo. Suddenly he understood, his jaw tightening in anger. "Oh God! Who did this?" She arched an eyebrow. Apoc understood perfectly, making a noise of comprehension. 

"Did you even need to ask?" He smiled slightly, opening a cabinet she had forgotten about and retrieved a bucket specially designed for the catching of stomach contents. 

"Shit!" She swore under her breath.   
"What?" Apoc questioned softly.   
"All I need now would be for Mouse to walk in."  
"Did someone call me?" Came the voice, right on cue. Trinity repressed the urge to scream, throw something or, ideally, punch Cypher in the head, allowing Apoc to deal with the youngest member of the crew. However, Neo suddenly burst into song, momentarily stunning everyone present. 

"'Cause he's got high-igh-igh hopes... he's got high-igh-igh hopes... he's got..." His voice trailed off obviously unable to recall the lyrics in his state. Mouse's eyes widened when they rested on the newest member of the crew.

"Whoa! What happened to Neo?" He exclaimed. "He looks like he's hallucinating! It kinda' makes you wonder..."   
"Shut up Mouse!" Switch and Apoc snapped simultaneously. Trinity blinked, the white haired woman was fixing cables at the other end of the ship. It was amazing the way the pair spoke in unison. Sometimes it was enough to make Cypher drink too much of Dozer's brew, causing the rest of the crew to wear earplugs to drown out the excessive complaining about aching heads.  
"Cypher gave him some hallucinogens," Trinity explained to a very taken aback Mouse. "We need you to go get Switch, Morpheus, some blankets, and a bucket. Can you do that Mouse?" 

"Why do I get all the dirty work?" He asked indignantly. "I mean, it's not like I never have anything important to do..." Against her will Trinity snapped. 

"Like what? Working on your Woman In The Red Dress?" Mouse was not the only one who could talk with capitals. 

"Hey! She happens to be a very critical part of the agent training program...among other things."  Apoc stepped in, scolding the boy much as a father would. Trinity almost wished Morpheus was on duty to see it.

"Mouse, we don't need a pimp right now! We need Morpheus, Switch, and some blankets."   
"In that order?"  Apoc's eyes narrowed. He just had to push his luck didn't he!   
Trinity wisely intervened, blocking them from each other, and speaking in a voice so full of authority that even Morpheus would have found it hard to disobey. 

"Mouse...go now before Apoc needs a cardiac bi-pass."  Mouse reluctantly went, taking one more curious glance at Neo before exiting the way he'd come. Trinity was just about to sit down and relax when Neo spoke up again. 

"Trinity?" She gazed over at him as patiently a she could, and nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "Am I dead?" Trinity suppressed the urge to throttle the bald man. The brown eyes staring glazed at her were much like a lost puppy dog. 

"No Neo. You're just a little high." She said evenly, trying not to show her amusement.  That seemed to confuse him. 

"But...I don't feel like I'm high...I feel like I'm sitting down..."   
"That's because you are sitting down." She said patiently, waiting for the realisation to dawn on Neo, who was grinning quiet uncomprehendingly. 

"Oh yeah.... So I am....Whoa!!!" Apoc leaned down to Trinity's ear and whispered, 

"We're gonna need that bucket soon."  Trinity nodded in agreement. Neo was definitely getting greener as time wore on.

"I know."   
"Trinity?" Her attention was caught by the slight gargle in his throat.

"Yes?"   
"Who's that?" Neo was pointing at Apoc, a confused look in his eyes.  She exchanged a worried glance with Apoc before turning back to Neo. 

"That's Apoc Neo. You remember him? He took you through the gun training program." Neo seemed to search his memory, a thoughtful glint in his eyes, and then he remembered. 

"Oh...Yeah! The gunman! That was good... lots of fun. " A short pause. "Trinity?" She found it amusing that even when he was severely disconnected with the world, Neo still asked endless questions.

"Yes?" 

"Do you think I'm the One?" She froze, the answer painfully clear to her already. Instead her reply was dispassionate and level.

"I can't answer that Neo." He looked confused, as though it was she who could provide the answer to the question that drove the crew. 

"Oh... If I end up not being the one, can I help look for him...her... " Another pause. "It?"  Trinity frowned as the man with the ponytail put a hand to his mouth to stop the laughter echoing in the ship. 

"Sure Neo. I think Morpheus wants you to stay on here anyway."  
"Trinity!"  Her head rose sharply at the sound of Morpheus' voice. 

"Morpheus, do you have the counteracting substance?" The captain was a little more than amazed at the expression on his second's face a moment before. He could almost swear she had been going to laugh… 

"Unfortunately not. Cypher didn't measure the amounts so I've come to take a blood sample so we can analyse it." He gazed over at Neo and grimaced a little, Morpheus hated needles. "I think I should let you take the sample." The woman rolled her eyes slightly, recalling the times that the other crews had tried to find a serious fault in the mad captain. If Lock ever found out the truth, there would be no more mad captain searching for the One in the maze of code that was the Matrix. Neo opened his mouth to speak again, blurring the words together. 

"Blankets are good...especially fluffy one's...they're nice to put your face on..." There was a moment of silence and Trinity was about to say something important to her captain when he continued. "Trinity? Do you like blankets?"  She noticeably grimaced as she glanced over at Morpheus whose lips turned ever-so-slightly upward.   
"How long has he been like this?" Morpheus asked as she nodded absently in reply to the random question. She was very glad the man had unwavering faith.  
"About fifteen minutes." Trinity answered evenly.

"I see."  
"Well they're not fluffy, but they're blankets. How ya' doin' Neo?"  Mouse said as he offered the pile of fabric to the presumed One.  
"No Mouse!" Trinity yelped. "He's going to smother himself!" The fear that gripped her heart at that thought frightened her a little more than she would have liked to admit. Not nearly as frightening as the silent answer to his query about his true identity, but enough to make her feel the cold more than she could bear. "Neo? Give me the blankets..." She continued, trying to protect him. There was a very muffled reply from the immersed head,

"No! My blanket!" He sounded much like a child denying to share a favourite toy. Jaw set in determination, Trinity yanked on the material. When this also failed, she resorted to the one thing she had learnt would make him relent his hold on anything. She tickled him. With a strange cry, he let the blanket go, causing her to end up on a heap halfway between the table and the bench. Not entirely comfortable and defiantely not a position that inspired respect.

"Trinity! I'm sorry, I didn't meant it!" he began to clamber very shakily to his feet.

"Neo! Sit! " He landed with a thud, needless of her prompting. "Everything is fine Neo, you just sit there and let me stand up. You are ok, I promise." She struggled to a sitting position and threw a glance at her captain, but he had departed, as had Mouse and Apoc. She was alone with a hallucinating potential One. Could it get anymore difficult? Just then, the green tinge finally gained it's purpose. Neo popped. Right into the bucket. Sighing, Trinity went to catch back his hair, realising as she did that there was nothing to worry about since the stubble was still too short to cause trouble. But as her fingers touched his scalp, he calmed down, less panicked at his inability to control his stomach.

"See Neo? I told you everything would be all right. " He grumbled in reply as she got him to rinse his mouth out with a sip of water. Still no one came back into the mess hall. He looked up at her with tired eyes.

"Trinity, I don't feel so good…"

"That's ok, you just need some sleep."

"Ok. " And with that he rested his head on her lap, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Looking down at him, Trinity wondered whether she really wanted to move. But Morpheus was reprimanding Cypher and she was torn between wanting to hear exactly what was said and listening to the even breathing of the man she had watched for so long. After careful deliberation, she chose to stay still. After all, that way she couldn't get accused of eavesdropping… 


End file.
